Pregnant Gold Coast woman makes plea after partner deported

A pregnant Gold Coast woman says she will be forced to give birth without the baby’s father after he was refused a visa to re-enter Australia.

Zoey Madden, 35, who is five months pregnant with her first child, told Nine.com.au her British partner Alex Musson had been living in Australia for seven years on various visas.

The couple met last year and Ms Madden, who works as a registered nurse, fell pregnant in May.

Mr Musson, who owns and runs a cleaning and pest control business on the Gold Coast, was advised he would need to leave Australia to apply for a partner visa offshore.

Mr Musson lodged his application from New Zealand earlier this month, and the couple were advised by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to apply for a temporary tourist visa so he could return to Australia.

But the temporary visa application, lodged with an appeal under compelling and compassionate grounds because of the Ms Madden’s pregnancy, was refused by the department last Friday.

The couple could now be separated for up to 18 months while Mr Madden’s partner visa is processed.

“When we got the refusal letter last Friday we were just absolutely devastated. Alex was just crying, he was a shattered man. He is devastated because his child is going to be born and he won’t be here,” Ms Madden said.

“We just don’t understand how this can happen. We are both working. Both paying taxes.

“Alex owns his own business and he employs an Australian citizen, he has contractors that work for him as well.

An ultrasound of the couple's baby, which is due on February 2. ()

“He has followed the correct process with immigration and he is a good citizen, he doesn’t have a criminal record in Australia or the UK.

“I love calling Australian home. We live in the best country, but what is going on, it’s just crazy.”

Writing in a plea online to the immigration department, Mr Musson said the government’s decision had torn his family apart and would force his partner to be single mother.

“At the time I need someone to have a compassionate bone in their body I’m struggling,” Mr Musson wrote.

“I’m spending money I’m earning from Australia in another country whilst my partner is going to have to lean on the government for support.”

“This will now cause my partner unnecessary stress which may have effects on our unborn child.”

“We are real people on the other end of these pieces of paper and thousands of dollars in lodgement fees.”

Mr Musson originally came to Australia in 2010 on a tourist visa. He applied for a partner visa with an Australian woman from a previous relationship, but withdrew the application in 2014 when the pair broke up. Since then he has been living in Australia on various temporary visas, included a sponsored visa and a bridging visa.

Mr Madden may not be able to return to Australia until his child is a toddler. ()

In its rejection letter to Mr Musson for his temporary tourist visa, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection wrote that it was "not satisfied that the applicant had a genuine intention to visit Australia on a temporary basis".

The letter pointed out the number of “rolling visas and visa applications” Mr Musson had used to spend just 16 days outside the country in seven years.

“The applicant’s visa and travel history indicate that applicant is attempting to circumvent proper migration channels and use the visitor visa program to maintain ongoing residence in Australia,” the letter reads.

“I have considered the circumstances including that applicant’s partner is pregnant, but I am not satisfied that the genuine temporary stay requirement is met.”

The letter also said there was doubt that Mr Musson could support himself financially without working in Australia.

Ms Madden said her partner would never jeopardize his partner visa application by working illegally in Australia and was able to support himself with income drawn from his business.

A spokesperson for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection told nine.com.au "the likelihood of an applicant overstaying or seeking to remain in Australia is a matter that must be assessed".

"Where the decision maker cannot be satisfied that a particular visa applicant meets all the relevant criteria for the grant of the visa applied for, they are obliged to refuse the application," the spokesperson said.

"It would be open to the applicant to submit a new application for consideration if they believed they have significant new information that would support their claims."

Mr Musson is able to appeal the decision with the administrative appeals tribunal, but the process would cost the couple a further $1700.

Ms Madden said her partner had already spent close to $50,000 in legal and visa fees since his arrival in 2010.

An online petition lodged by Ms Madden and calling on Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to intervene in her partner’s case has collected 2000 signatures in two days.